Regardless of which baseball side of town you support, New York Mets closer Devin Williams is a controversial figure. New York Yankees fans aren’t exactly supporter, given Williams’ slow start and his comments about the Yankees’ longstanding no-beard policy.
Mets fans, meanwhile, have a softer point of view when it comes to their new closer. They may not see Willams as a savior just yet, but he does keep the team from getting hijacked financially by flamboyant former closer Edwin Diaz.
It’s a complicated situation, as noted by Jordy Fee-Platt of The Athletic, who reported on a comment Williams made to Yankees fans about his cross-town move.
“For a bunch of people that didn’t want me back on your team, ya’ll are sure mad in the DM’s,” Williams wrote Wednesday in a post on his Instagram story.
Williams is definitely enjoying the fruits of his labors with the Yankees. He signed a $51 million deal to become the Mets’ new closer this week, and Williams is making it a point to enjoy the situation.
Is he entitled to do that? Maybe. Williams struggled in the month of April in the Bronx, starting his Yankees stint with a 9.00 ERA, and he was booed every time he took the mount.
Manager Aaron Boone eventually demoted him from the closer role, and there was also the kerfuffle that occurred when Willams played a role in changing the Yanks’ longstanding no-beard policy, stating that it would affect his decision to stay with the team when he reached free agency.
Now he reached it and he’s gone, but Williams did leave Yankees fans with something good to remember him by. He finished the season with a 13-inning scoreless inning streak, which included four scoreless playoff innings.
Willams even received a standing ovation after game two of the ALDS against the Toronto Blue Jays, when Williams received a standing ovation for his performance.
“It’s nice to feel appreciated sometimes,” Williams said after the game. “It was definitely better than what I’ve had for much of the year.”
The Mets are hoping that scenario gets repeated early and often, and they’re also hoping Williams can put his career-worst ERA of 4.79 behind him. Williams still ranks in the 99th percentile in whiff rate, largely to his devastating changeup.
It’s a strange situation given how beloved former closer Edwin Diaz was by Mets fans, and it has all the trappings of an “only in New York” scenario. At the very least it will be fun to follow, and it should spice up the annual Subway Series interleague games, too.